Half-Price Tesla EVs Are Amazing Bargains, But Their Reliability Can Bite Back

• Five- to ten-year-old Tesla EVs are at the bottom of Consumer Reports’ latest used car reliability report.
• That’s a huge difference from new Teslas, which have been massively improved.
• One of the reasons for the poor reliability of older Tesla models is linked to the company’s efforts to ramp up production.

Tesla was once the king of the electric car market in the United States, and in terms of overall sales, it’s kept that crown. As a result, millions of Tesla EVs are roaming the streets of America, but not all were created equal, as Consumer Reports discovered in its latest reliability reports for new and used cars.

New models sold by the Elon Musk-led company are among the most reliable cars out there, with Tesla ranking ninth in the overall 2026 reliability chart. That includes all automakers, not just those that make EVs.

What’s more, Consumer Reports said that the Tesla Model Y is the most reliable new EV on the market today, though it still lags behind hybrid-powered models, which use older technology that has been tried and tested over several decades. More on this in a bit.

The Tesla Model Y is the most reliable new EV in America, according to Consumer Reports. It’s a different story when it comes to used models, though.

Photo by: Tesla

The Lexus RZ is the second most reliable new EV on the market, while the BMW i4, i5 and iX are noted as having average reliability.

Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EVs are the least reliable new cars from the three automakers’ portfolios, with many complaints being related to the internet-famous Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU). The three companies have issued several recalls to fix the issue, but many owners have reported online that the software patches have done little and that the core of the problem is still unknown.

Yet when it comes to the reliability of used cars, specifically those that are between five and ten years old, Tesla is dead last, behind Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, GMC and Kia.

Consumer Reports said that this huge difference between the reliability of new Tesla models and those made between 2016 and 2021 mostly stems from the company’s efforts to ramp up production in the previous decade, when it was common to read about Tesla building EVs in makeshift tents in parking lots.

The Tesla Model 3 entered production in 2017, and it was the brand’s first hot seller, followed by the Model Y in 2020, which upped the ante even more in terms of volume, pushing the company to adopt some unorthodox manufacturing solutions. That’s no longer the case, with everything buttoned up now, and conventional Tesla EVs being mostly trouble-free–except for the Cybertruck.

But it raises an important question about all those bargain-priced used Teslas. With the average new car price at a record high of $50,000, American car buyers are focusing their attention on the used market, where the majority of battery-powered cars wear the Tesla badge.

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That being said, because of their ubiquity, Teslas also benefit from a relatively established service network (for EV startups, anyway) and there are loads of spare parts available, as well as independent shops that might be willing to do jobs at lower rates than the official repair facilities. What’s more, Tesla offers an eight-year warranty for the drive unit and battery, so the most expensive parts may still be covered if something were to happen, as long as the mileage limit is not exceeded.

At the other end of the spectrum are the same names that we’ve become accustomed to for a few years now. Lexus leads the way as the most reliable used car brand, followed by Toyota, Mazda, Honda and Acura. BMW is sixth, and the most reliable European used car brand, followed by Buick, Nissan, Audi and Volvo.

Startups Rivian and Lucid don’t have cars old enough to qualify for the used segment, but it’s worth noting that Rivian ranked last in the new-car reliability chart. Meanwhile, there’s not enough data to rank Lucid.

The most reliable used car brands

All this being said, it’s worth noting that EVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), have a lot more problems on average than gas-only cars, while hybrids have fewer problems. On average, EVs and PHEVs are about 80% more problematic, while hybrids are 15% less prone to problems. In other words, seven of the 10 least reliable new cars on the market today are either EVs or PHEVs, with most issues being related to the high-voltage battery, charging and drive systems.

While they have fewer mechanical parts overall and need less maintenance, they run on new technologies that many automakers are still getting the hang of. 

“Many of the problems with EVs and plug-in hybrids are because they are newer designs compared to gas technology, so some kinks still continue to be worked out,” said Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports.

To come up with the reliability data in these reports, the non-profit organization asked its members about the problems they’ve had with their vehicles. For used cars scores, more than 140,000 vehicles from the 2016 to 2021 model years were included in the sample, with CR members noting the problems that they faced in the past 12 months. The outlet’s data is based on 20 potential trouble areas, from nuisances like squeaky brakes and broken interior trim to major issues like out-of-warranty batteries, motors and charging-related problems.

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